Electric shavers

ABSTRACT

An electric dry shaver of the cordless type has the motor, battery and other parts supported in an integrally moulded body frame, a sheet metal body casing enclosing the frame and supported parts, with a cutter drive member projecting through the casing and carrying externally thereof a reciprocable cutter which co-operates with a shear plate carried on a head casing detachably secured to the body. The head casing also carries a long hair trimmer. Provision is made for recharging the cells from an external power source and for operating direct from an external source in an emergency, suitable external sources for both purposes being disclosed.

D United States Patent [1 1 [1111' 3,783,508 Brown et al. 11 Jan. 8,1974 ELECTRIC SHAVERS 3,191,299 6/1965 Locke 30143.92 [75] Inventors:Norman Joseph Brown, Li g 24 Maidenhead Charles Christo her y r P kh W kh R P d 3,504,433 4/1970 Futterer "BBQ/43.92 ac 0 g aymon 3,518,4656/1970 Jepson O/43.9X Graham Parsonage, Maidenhead, all

of England FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 4 [73] Assignee: The GilletteCompany, Boston, 1253196 H960 France 30/346 51 Mass PrimaryExaminer-Harold D. Whitehead [22] Filed: Aug. 13, 1971 AssistantExaminer-Gary L. Smith [21] Appl 171 476 Attorney-Philip Colman et a1.

B T T [30] Foreign Application Priority Data [57] A S RAC Au I 4 1970Great Britain 39 377/70 An electric dry shaver of the cordless type hasthe moi' 1971 Great Britain 6714/71 tor, battery and other parts.supported in an integrally moulded body frame, a sheet metal body casingen- [52] U S C] 30/43 92 30/34 1 closing the frame and supported parts,with a cutter [51] m2 19/2'0 drive member projecting through the casingand carry- [58] Field of Search .J 30/2391, 43.92, mg there arecipmcible cutter which 30/346 51 43 9 222 operates with a shear platecarried on a head casing detachably secured to the body. The head casingalso [56] References Cited carries a long hair trimmer. Provision ismade for recharging the cells from an external power source and UNITEDSTATES PATENTS for operating direct from an external source in anSchs'nitt 30002229); emergency, suitable external sources for both pur-3 4 An IS 3 0s S b in d'sclosed 3,105,298 lO/l963 Carissimi 30/4392 p ee g l 2 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures SHEET 10F 6 PATENTEUJAH 8 m4PAIENTEDJAH 8l974 3,783,508

I SHEET 30F 5 PATENTEUJAN 81874 3' 783, sum 60F 6 FIG. [0.

ELECTRIC SHAVERS This invention relates to electrically operated dryshavers and provides numerous improvements in their construction. Theinvention also provides a charger unit and a dry battery pack for usewith such shavers.

The shaver illustrated in the accompanying drawings and furtherdescribed below is of the cordless type, being normally driven byelectric cells accommodated within the shaver casing, provision beingmade for recharging the cells from an external power source during theintervals between use and also for operating direct from an externalpower source in an emergency.

The electric storage battery and an electric motor operated by thebattery are mounted in a frame integrally moulded from plasticsmaterial, this frame also supporting in operative connection with themotor a reciprocable cutter drive member; the frame motor and cells areenclosed in a sheet metal casing secured to the frame with the cutterdrive member extending through an opening in the casing and carryingexternally of the casing a reciprocable cutter; a head casing removablysecured to the frame encloses the cutter and carries an apertured shearplate which engages the cutter. Both the shear plate and thereciprocable cutter are constituted by apertured metal foils held inarched form and the construction allows either foil to be removed andreplaced very simply, should it become damaged.

The drive member carrying the reciprocable cutter is supported in afully floating condition by spring blades, so that frictional resistanceto movement is minimised and power requirements are small. The drivemember and its spring suspension are arranged for manufacture as a selfcontained sub-assembly which can be located as a unit in the main frameof the shaver. The electric motor which serves to effect reciprocationof the drive member is also constructed as a separate unit andsubsequently located in guides provided in the main frame.

The drive member which carries the reciprocating cutter and extendsthrough an opening in the casing within which the electric motor ishoused is shaped to overlie the casing adjacent this opening bothinternally and externally, thereby forming a labyrinth seal hinderingacces of cut hairs to the interior.

The shaving head, constituted by the two arched foils, has itslongitudinal central plane inclined at an angle to one side of thelongitudinal central plane of the shaver body. On the opposite side ofthe latter plane the head casing carries a long hair trimmer, whichnormally lies retracted within the head casing, but can be movedparallel to the said plane to project through an aperture in the casing,and manually releasable means are provided to lock the trimmer in itsprojected and retracted positions. Projection and retraction of thetrimmer operates automatically to couple its moveable member to anduncouple it from the drive member of the shaver head.

The shaver is provided with a jacksocket for connecting the shaver toexternal sources of electrical power and a three position switch ofsimple construction allows the motor to be driven from the internalcells, or direct from an external source such as a dry battery pack, orswitched off. When the motor is switched off, the cells are connected tothe socket terminals so that they can be recharged from an externalsource such as a mains-operated charger unit. A safety device ensuresthat the shaver cannot be connected to the charger unit except when themotor is switched off.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a sectional side elevation of a shaver in accordance with theinvention, taken on the line I-I of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2 is a sectional front elevation of the shaver, taken on the lineIl-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a part sectional side elevation taken on the line Ill-III ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the lower part of the shaver, taken on theline IV-IV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional plane view of the shaver, taken on the line V-V ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an underside view of the shaver;

FIG. 7 is a'plan view, partly broken away, of a charger unit for usewith the shaver;

FIG. 8 is a section taken on the line VIIIVIII of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a section taken on the line IX-IX of FIG.

FIG. 10 is an elevation of a dry battery pack, shown in this Figure inopen condition for use with the shaver;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view, taken on the line XI--XI of FIG. 12 of thebattery pack, shown in closed condition; and

FIG. 12 is a section view taken on the line XII- XII of FIG. 11.

The shaver shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 comprises a sheet metal body casing 1,formed in two parts which mate in the plane of FIG. 2, constituting agenerally rectangular box enclosing a main frame 2, moulded from asuitable synthetic resin material. The frame 2 is shaped to provide alower box-like portion, which accommodates two rechargeable electriccells 3, a pair of spaced pillars 2a, which extend upwardly from thebox-like portion, and a bridge portion, which extends between the upperends of the pillars. Between the pillars 2a of the frame there isdisposed a rotary electric motor 4, which is resiliently supported andlocated by engaging a pair of oppositely projecting flanges on the motorin box-like mouldings 5 of elastomeric material and slideably engagingthe elastomer covered flanges in channels formed in the frame 2 whichfrictionally retain them. Secured to the vertical shaft 4a of the motoris a collar 6 formed with an eccentric boss 6a which through theintermediary of ball bearing 6b engages between a pair of flanges 7adepending from a drive bar 7, supported for lateral (left to right inFIG. 2) recipro eating movement, and connected as described below to themoving cutter of the shaver.

Drive bar 7 is supported by a pair of leaf springs 8, each of which isof approximately E shape, having three upwardly projecting tongues,united at their lower ends. The central tongue of each spring is securedto one end of the drive bar 7 while the two outer tongues of each springare secured to a member 9, which can be engaged from above into a recessformed in the frame 2, a hole in the member taking over an upwardlyprojecting pin 2b on the frame. The members 7 and 9 are formed by asingle injection moulding operation around the ends of the tongues ofsprings 8 (which are apertured to key the springs to the mouldedmaterial in which they are embedded) and this assembly is secured inposition in the frame by rivetting over the ends of the pins 2b, asshown.

The drive bar 7 is permanently secured to an upper drive member 10, pins10a formed integrally with member being passed through holes in bar 7and rivetted over, as shown. Drive member 10 carries an upwardlyprojecting split stud 11, which detachably receives the moving cutterassembly described below, and also serves to secure to drive member 10 aleaf spring 12, which serves both to urge the moving cutter assemblyupwardly and to prevent that assembly from rotating around the axis ofstud 11. It will be observed that the top portion of the body casing 1engages be tween the two parts of the cutter drive member constituted bythe conjoined members 7 and 10, each of which has a lateral andlongitudinal extent substantially exceeding the width and lengthrespectively of the aperture in the casing through which the drivemember extends. The parts thus form a labyrinth seal which hindersaccess of cut hairs into the interior of the casing.

The moving cutter assembly comprises an L-section member 13 of syntheticresin material, having a central apertured boss 13a for engaging stud11; a thin flexible cutter foil 14, formed with numerous apertures,which is held in arched condition by the engagement of holes formed inits two opposite longitudinal edges with studs 13b formed on the member13; and a pair of metal strips 15, which are also engaged over the studs13b and hold the foil 14 in position. The underside of the member 13 isformed with a groove 130 which receives the ends of leaf spring 12, sothat the latter prevents rotation of the cutter assembly around stud 11,as stated above, as well as urging the assembly away from the drivemembers.

The reciprocable cutter foil 14 is urged by the spring 12 into operativeengagement with a stationary outer cutter foil or shear plate 16, alsoformed with numerous apertures. The outer foil 16 is secured in archedcondition to a head casing 17, which removably secured to the body ofthe shaver by a pair of spring mounted catches l8, releasable bypressing in finger pieces 18a. Attachment of foil 16 to the head casingis effected by split studs 19, which are passed outwardly throughregistering holes in reinforcing strips 20, the foil 16 and the headcasing 17. The foil can readily be detached from the head casing (afterremoval of the latter from the body of the shaver) by pressing inwardlythe projecting ends of the studs 19, so that replacement of a damagedfoil is a simple operation. Similarly, the complete moving cutterassembly (parts 13, 14 and 15) can be simply pulled off and pushed on tothe split stud 11, so that replacement of the inner foil also is asimple operation.

It will be observed that the moving cutter 14 and the co-operatingstationary shear plate 16 are not disposed symmetrically about thelongitudinal central plane of the shaver body (that is the plane of FIG.2, indicated by the line II-II in FIG. 1) but are so shaped and disposedthat the effective surface of the shaving head constituted by thecontacting portions of the foils 14 and 16, has its central planeinclined obliquely to the above-mentioned central plane of the body.This angular disposition of the shaving head is convenient to the userand it allows the disposition alongside the shaving head of aretractible long hair trimmer, now to be described.

The long hair trimmer comrises a stationary shear plate 21, and areciprocable cutter plate 22, whose upper edges are notched to provideco-operating cutting teeth. The shear plate 21 is disposed against theinner face ofa wall of the head casing 17 and is secured through slotsin that wall to a finger piece 23 on the outer side of that wall, theslots allowing the shear plate to be displaced upwardly in its own planeinto a position in which the cutting teeth project through an openingprovided in the head casing 17. The shear plate is retained in eitherits retracted position (as shown) or in its protruded position by a leafspring 24, anchored at its upper end to the head casing and having itslower end engaged in one or other of a pair of recesses, 23a, 23b formedin finger piece 23. Spring 24 can be flexed to permit movement of theshear plate by pressing inwardly a release button 25. The reciprocablecutter plate 22 is held pressed into operative engagement with the innerface of the shear plate 21 by leaf springs (not shown) secured on studswhich are secured to the shear plate and pass through longitudinallyextending slots in the cutter plate, so that the latter, althoughcaptive to the shear plate, is reciprocable relative thereto in alongitudinal direction, that is parallel to the movement of the cutterfoil 14 of the shaving head. Fast to the reciprocable cutter plate 22 isa stud 26 which engages between a pair of flanges 10b formed on anupward extension of the drive member 10 for the shaving cutter. (It willbe observed that this upward extension of member 10 also serves tosupport the shaving cutter assembly 13, l4, 15 against any rearwardpressure which may be exerted upon it during the action of shaving).When the long hair trimmer. is in the retracted position shown, stud 26lies between parts of the flanges 10b which are far enough apart for themovement of the drive member to be without effect on the cutter plate22. When the long hair trimmer is moved to its operative protrudingposition by pressing in release button 25 and sliding upwardly thefinger piece 23, stud 26 is brought to lie in a narrow part of the gapbetween the flanges 10b, so that the cutter plate 22 participates in thereciprocating movement of drive member 10.

Recharging of the cells 3 can be effected by inserting a jack plugconnected to a suitable electric power source through an opening in thebase of the casing, so as to engage a pair of spring contact blades 27,28 mounted in the main frame 2. A three-position electric switch isconstituted by an insulating plate 29, located in a recess in the frameand carrying three contact strips 30, 31, 32 and by a spring bridgingcontact 33,

carried by a finger piece 34 which projects through a slot in thecasing, bridging contact 33 comprising three tongues for engaging therespective strips. Contact strip 30 is connected to jack contact blade27; contact strip 31 is connected to one cell terminal; contact strip 32is connected to one terminal of the motor; the other motor terminal isconnected to the other cell terminal and to the second jack contactblade 28.

A boss 34a on the inner face of the finger piece is adapted to engagebetween a pair of resilient arms 35 which are notched so that (as bestseen from FIG. 4) they define the three operative switching positions ofthe finger piece.

With the finger piece 34 in its uppermost position, as shown, thebridging contact engages strips 30 and 31 only, so that the motor is onopen circuit and the cells are connected across jack contacts 27, 28,allowing recharging to be effected. When the finger piece is moved to anintermediate position the bridging contact interconnects all threestrips, the interconnection of strips 31 and 32 connecting the motoracross the cell terminals. When the finger piece is moved to its lowestposition, strips 30 and 32 only are interconnected, so that the cellsare on open circuit and, the motor is connected to the jack terminals27, 28. This third position allows the shaver to be operated from anexternal source, such as a dry battery, should the cells have be comeexhausted.

Secured to the boss 34a of the switch operating member 34 is a member 36of insulating material which is secured at its upper end to the slidableswitch operating member 34 and extends downwardly between the externallyaccessible terminal members 27, 28. When the member 34 is in itsuppermost position, as shown (conditioning the shaver for connection tothe charger unit) the lower end of member 36 lies flush with the top ofthe recess in which the exposed lower ends of terminals 27, 28 areaccommodated. When the operating member 34 is moved downwardly to itssecond and third positions, the member 36 moves with it so as to projectto a greater or lesser extent into the recess.

The charger unit shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 comprises a closed casing formedby upper and lower members 40 and 41, enclosing between them a mountingpanel 42. The mounting panel carries a terminal block 43 (accessiblethrough an opening in the casing members) for engagement with aconnector 44 on the end of an alternating current mains supply lead 45.Panel 42 also carries a step-down transformer 46, a switch 47 forconditioning the unit to operate on mains supplies of different voltage,rectifier components indicated generally at 48, output terminals 49 towhich the unit delivers low voltage rectified current, and the necessaryelectrical connections between these parts. The electrical componentsemployed and the manner in which they are interconnected areconventional in character and further description is deemed unnecessary.

The upper casing member 40 is shaped to provide a recess 50, shaped anddimensioned to receive the lower part of the shaver of FIGS. 1 to 6,supporting the shaver in upright position. The output terminals 49 ofthe charger unit are carried in an insulating block 51, which projectsthrough an opening in casing member 40 into the recess 50. When theshaver is applied to the charger unit, terminal block 51 engages in therecess in the shaver in which terminals 27, 28 are located and theseterminals contact the terminals 49 of the charger unit. Should thecontrol switch of the shaver be in its second or third position when theshaver is applied to the charger unit, the portion 51a of terminal block51 will engage member 36 and move the control switch to its firstposition, appropriate for the charging operation. While the shaverremains engaged with the charger unit, portion 51a blocks movement ofmember 36, preventing operation of the shaver switch.

The dry battery pack shown in FIGS. to 12 comprises a body member,indicated generally by the reference numeral 60, shaped to provide anopen-bottomed box-like portion 61 adapted to receive the upper ends oftwo pairs of dry cells 70. These cells are enclosed and held in positionby a casing member 71 which engages over body portion 61 and is retainedto the latter by spring tongues 62 formed in the walls of body portion61, the barbed lower ends of the tongues engaging at 63 with shouldersformed on the inner surface of two opposite walls of casing 71. Thesewalls of casing 71 are cut away or notched to accomodate the ribbed rootportions 64 of tongues 62, pressure on the portions 64 operating torelease casing 71 and thus allow replacement of cells 70. Conductorstrips 72 secured in casing 71 connect the lower ends of one pair ofcells to the lower ends of the other pair of cells (which are reversedin position) and conductor strips 73 secured in body 60 separatelyconnect the upper ends of the two pairs of cells to the two cores of aflexible cable 74.

Cable 74 passes upwardly through a portion 65 of the body which has theform of an open-ended rectangular tube of reduced cross-section relativeto the portion 61. At the upper end of this tube portion 65 the body isformed with an outwardly projecting flange 66 carrying a cable clamp 67,which grips cable 74 and prevents any tension on the cable from beingapplied to its connections to conductor strips 73. The other end ofcable 74 carries a connector 75 adapted to engage in the recess in theshaver of FIGS. 1 to 6 in which terminals 27, 28 are located and toconnect those terminals to the cores of the cable and thus to the drycells 70. Connector 75 is of course so shaped that it can be engagedoperatively with the shaver even when the shaver control switch is inits third position with member 36 in its fully protruded position.

Fitting slideably over the upper part of the body 60 of the battery packis a cover 76, which can be lowered into the closed position shown inFIGS. 11 and 12 and raised to the open position shown in FIG. 10, thecover being retained to the body by the engagement of barbs 77 on thecover with the underside of flange 66 of the body. With the cover inopen position, as shown in FIG. 10, cable 74 can be wound around theportion 65 of the body between the flange 66 at its upper end and theportion 68 of the body which connects the lower end of portion 65 toportion 61. When the cable is fully wound up, the cover can be closed,as shown in FIGS. 1 1 and 12, to enclose cable 74 and connector 75. Itwill be observed from FIG. 12 that the portion 65 of the body is offsetto one side of the centre line, so as to facilitate the accommodationwithin the cover of connector 75.

In a simplified form of the shaver (not illustrated) replacable primarycells are substituted for the rechargeable secondary cells 3. The casingis provided with a shuttered opening to allow extraction of exhaustedcells and the insertion of fresh ones; the terminals 27, 28 are omitted;and the three-position control switch is replaced by a simple on-offswitch.

We claim:

1. An electrically operated dry shaver comprising a frame integrallymoulded from plastics material, an electric battery located andsupported within the frame, an electric motor for operation by thebattery also located in and supported by said frame, a cutter drivemember mounted for reciprocation by the frame in operative connectionwith the motor, a sheet metal casing secured to the frame and enclosingthe frame, the battery and the motor, the cutter drive member extendingthrough an opening in the casing so as to lie partly inside and partlyoutside the casing, a cutter secured to the drive member outside thecasing, a head casing removably secured to the frame and an aperturedshear plate secured to the head casing and engaging the cutter. v

2. An electrically operated dry shaver comprising a body having aninternal cavity bounded on one side by a wall having an aperture formedtherein, an electric motor mounted on the body within the cavity, acutter drive member extending through said aperture and sup 8 a pair ofparallel opposed surfaces extending in closely spaced parallel relationto the inner and outer surfaces respectively of said wall, the lateraland longitudinal extents of said surfaces substantially exceeding thewidth and length respectively of said aperture.

1. An electrically operated dry shaver comprising a frame integrallymoulded from plastics material, an electric battery located andsupported within the frame, an electric motor for operation by thebattery also located in and supported by said frame, a cutter drivemember mounted for reciprocation by the frame in operative connectionwith the motor, a sheet metal casing secured to the frame and enclosingthe frame, the battery and the motor, the cutter drive member extendingthrough an opening in the casing so as to lie partly inside and partlyoutside the casing, a cutter secured to the drive member outside thecasing, a head casing removably secured to the frame and an aperturedshear plate secured to the head casing and engaging the cutter.
 2. Anelectrically operated dry shaver comprising a body having an internalcavity bounded on one side by a wall having an aperture formed therein,an electric motor mounted on the body within the cavity, a cutter drivemember extending through said aperture and supported from the body forreciprocation in the plane of said wall, means within the cavityoperatively connecting the motor to the drive member, a cutter disposedon the outer side of said wall and secured to the drive member, and anapertured shear plate secured to the body and engaging and co-operatingwith the cutter, wherein the cutter drive member is shaped to provide apair of parallel opposed surfaces extending in closely spaced parallelrelation to the inner and outer surfaces respectively of said wall, thelateral and longitudinal extents of said surfaces substantiallyexceeding the width and length respectively of said aperture.